Sportingbet review

Sportingbet have launched a new website, you can see the NEW site review here as this review covers the old sportingbet site.

Sportingbet are one of the premier bookmakers in South Africa and claim to be one of the world’s leading bookies. They certainly are one of the largest and slickest books in South Africa backed up by a very user friendly site and a great selection of markets, many of which are available inplay.

They currently offer a first deposit bonus where they double your first deposit, up to R2000. A pretty good deal that sets itself apart from the usual R500 offer that you find at most bookmakers.

Personally I signed up with Sportingbet many years ago, when they were operating under the Greatodds name. I’ve never had any major issues with them and was lucky enough to receive a few SA Rugby Jerseys and generous free bets throughout the years. They are the closest thing to a Bet365 type site in South Africa. Not quite the calibre although they have done some major improvements to their product in recent times.

These improvements are what makes Sportingbet really stand out from the crowd. Let’s have a quick look at some of the benefits you can enjoy as a Sportingbet account holder.

Cash out : The ability to “Cash out” or “Settle” your bet before the game is over. This is a standard feature in most European bookmakers but was overlooked by South African bookies. It’s a fantastic feature and I cannot praise Sportingbet enough for implanting it here, even if it often counts in the books favour to have you “Cash out”.

Rewards Club : The Sportingbet rewards club gives you 1 point for each R10 you wager and this number increases if you take multiples. So if you bet R100 on a 5 fold the rewards would be worked out as follows. 100/10 x 5 = 50. Once you’ve earned a certain number of weekly points they are automatically exchanged for a free bet ranging from R10 – R16000. In the past it was easier to earn points but it’s nice to get something back from Sportingbet on a weekly basis, something which is lacking at other bookmakers.

As you can see the promotions are well behind what other books offer and really could do with some improving. There are other markets that do make up for the lack of proper promotions but we’d still like to see more.

The Sportingbet site and mobile site are pleasure to navigate and use. You won’t have any issue finding what it is you are looking for.

One minor gripe with Sportingbet is their customer service, their agents are not as knowledgeable as their rivals, and the hours you can contact them are limited to between 10am – 8pm. Seriously 10am is way too late and 8pm is way too early. Also there was no live chat agents available at the time of writing this review, at 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon.

Sportingbet have some of the best markets and features of all South African bookmakers and I’d consider them to be one of the best sports betting sites in the country. Their sign on offer is higher than most other books and their website is easy to navigate and use. However they do need to work on their customer service, promotions and horse racing offering if they want to retain and attract players. We’d highly recommend that you sign up with Sportingbet, you certainly won’t be disappointed.

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Love sportingbet but be warned! You need to have opted into the loyalty program to get the rewards, I discovered this after a few months. Don’t make the same mistake!

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1 year ago

Duncan

Wow you guys are so lucky. Been with them for a few mknts and spent quite a but yet I don’t seem to have an bonus funds. When I asked live to to email me info regarding free bets and bonuses, they said they would but I did receive anything.

Are you referring to the loyalty program bonuses? Getting customer service to email you is like having a super model over for the night. It just ain’t happening.

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2 years ago

Jeremy

Hey guys, not sure where to put this so I’ll let it here. Big thanks for the awesome site and great reviews. Keep em coming and keep letting us have our say. Too many forums and sites censor or delete negative stuff posted about bookies but you guys don’t. Keep up the good work!

Peace

Jeremy

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2 years ago

Mike

Sportingbet are a good book. They listen to their customers and whenever possible try to accommodate the customer. I have had an account there for many years and only ever once had a dispute which they sorted out within 24 hours in a professional manner. If you have a concern you raise it with them via Twitter and they come back to you promptly. I must be truthful and say I was disappointed to see their Birthday vouchers for punters discontinued.